Chapter 2: The Temple and

the Banks of the Golden Dragon Grand Canal.

Before him stood a dilapidated, one-room tiled house.

Fang Yi stood before the wooden door, adorned with a golden dragon couplet. He narrowed his eyes, sensing his own golden elixir within, suppressed by a mysterious force, unable to return to his physical body.

He immediately began to knock on the door, knowing someone lived there.

If memory served him correctly, the temple keeper was called Lao Miao, a village guardian, or, in modern parlance, "Brother Tree."

He was in his sixties or seventies, and due to his indolence, not only had he never married or had children, but even his relatives had practically all died. He lived on the minimum living allowance, a habit he indulged in, smoking and drinking. That was insufficient, and the village committee, feeling sorry for him, had arranged for him to guard the small temple, giving him a few hundred yuan extra each month.

"Could it be that Lao Miao stole my golden elixir? Is he also a cultivator?"

Fang Yi, about to knock, stopped, frowning in thought. "If Lao Miao truly was a cultivator, and had the power to seize my golden elixir, wouldn't knocking on the door be courting death?"

No!

He couldn't knock!

Fang Yi, ever cautious, ultimately decided to use his spirit to peer inside the temple before deciding whether to knock.

After thinking it over,

he cleared his mind of distractions and guided his thoughts to transcend

his physical body. Initially, he was a bit unskilled, unable to free his mind from the body.

Once,

twice,

five times.

As he tried again, Fang Yi gradually gained some experience.

Finally, on the ninth attempt, his mind once again escaped the body!

A wondrous vision suddenly unfolded, as if he had established a connection with a power source within the temple, once again glimpsing the very essence of the world. Just

as he was about to break into the temple to observe,

the roar of a thunderous dragon's roar echoed once more.

This time, Fang Yi clearly saw a ball of red light before him, followed by two golden dragons, claws and fangs bared, boiling out from it, roaring furiously at him!

The dragon's roar was even more ferocious than before, shaking his "soul" to a state of turmoil!

Previously, Fang Yi would have returned his consciousness to his physical body to evade the attack.

But now, he was desperate to recover his golden elixir, so how could he give up?

He tried his best to steady his thoughts, not letting his spirit tremble.

At the same time, he carefully observed what was before him.

All around him was a red glow, devoid of sunlight.

Only two enormous, lifelike golden dragons circled and roared, as if warning against trespassing.

With each roar, heat billowed, and Fang Yi felt as if his soul was being scorched and withered, or perhaps even boiled to a crisp!

"Even if you won't let me in, I'll force my way in!"

With unwavering resolve, Fang Yi braved the heat and took a light step forward.

This action enraged the golden dragons.

The dragon on the right opened its mouth and blew.

A stream of golden light burst from its maw, instantly transforming into flames, causing the entire red glowing space to rapidly heat up to an unbearable level.

Fang Yi felt his very soul ablaze.

Before he could even consider it, he was horrified to see the entire space erupt in flames.

From heaven to earth, flames filled the air; it felt as if the place had become a sea of ​​inferno!

"No, I can't hold on any longer!"

Fang Yi had a premonition. If he didn't regain consciousness and return to his physical body, he would be consumed by the flames.

Helplessly, his thoughts retreated back into his body like a tide.

The next moment, the red light, the golden dragon, and the sea of fire all vanished.

The pitch-black night remained before him, as if it had just been an illusion.

Only the "pain" emanating from the depths of his soul made Fang Yi realize that everything that had just happened was real.

"What's going on with these two golden dragons?"

Fang Yi frowned, realizing one thing clearly: if he didn't deal with them, he would never be able to reclaim his golden elixir.

Golden dragons...

wait!

His gaze fell on the door plaque, and

he speculated, "Could it be that those two golden dragons are the same two on the door plaque?" Thinking it was possible, Fang Yi reached out to peel the plaque off.

However, as his fingers touched the plaque, the golden dragons intruded upon his consciousness!

Fang Yi quickly withdrew his hand, and the golden dragons vanished once more. He didn't dare touch the plaque again.

"Let's knock on the door and go in to see what's going on, but not now. If Old Miao is truly a cultivator, I might lose my soul. Let's wait until someone comes to burn incense."

Since modern society hasn't seen transcendental beings, it seems likely that secular laws have certain constraints on them.

If someone were around, even Old Miao, no matter how brazen, wouldn't dare do anything to him in front of others.

Fang Yi simply found a place to sit down and quietly wait for dawn.

One hour.

Three hours.

Soon, the sky was half-light.

Footsteps could be heard in the distance.

Then, two women's voices could be heard.

"Is your old man feeling better?"

"He's still half-dead. I don't know what's happened to him. It's been almost a week, so I came to ask for the gods' blessing. What about you? Today isn't the first or fifteenth day of the lunar month, so why are you here to burn incense?" "

My grandson just graduated from school, and I'm asking the gods to bless him with a good job."

Fang Yi knew these two voices well. They were Aunt Wang and Grandma Wu, his neighbors on either side.

Although they were clearly audible, the early morning was quiet, so it might take them a while to get here.

Fang Yi felt relieved when someone arrived.

He stood up, pretending to have just arrived, and reached out to knock on the door.

Perhaps because he hadn't touched the door couplet, the golden dragon didn't intrude upon his consciousness this time. "

Dong, dong, dong.

" After several knocks, an elderly voice rang out from inside. "Who's there? So early?"

Fang Yi said, "Lao Miao, it's me, Fang Yi. I just came back from outside and wanted to burn some incense."

"Such annoyance, wait a minute,"

Lao Miao's unhappy voice echoed.

After waiting for more than a minute, the small wooden door with the couplet featuring two golden dragons creaked open from the ground.

Immediately afterwards, a foul smell hit his nose. A skinny and slovenly-looking old man in his sixties or seventies stuck his head out and said unhappily, "Why don't you go to bed so early and disturb others?"

Fang Yi pointed inside and said, "I want to burn some incense for Wong Tai Sin."

Lao Miao had no intention of moving aside. "Where's your incense?"

Fang Yi looked at the small shop in the village not far away which had not yet opened. He smiled helplessly and said, "You have incense,

don't you? Lend me three sticks to worship Wong Tai Sin." "My incense is free. Twenty-three yuan, and I'll give you three sticks." Lao Miao said.

Fang Yi chuckled. "I see you're asking me for cigarettes, not incense money."

Old Miao, already impatient, chuckled and rubbed his hands. "Money's tight. Give me some money to buy a pack of Yuxi cigarettes."

Fang Yi had no choice but to pull out his wallet, pull out twenty-three yuan, and hand it over. He shook his head and said, "People at work don't smoke as well as you do."

"They have parents and children to support, so of course they'd be reluctant to part with it." Old Miao snatched the money from Fang Yi's hand and scoffed. "If I eat well, my whole family won't starve. If I don't treat myself well, who's going to burn it for me when I die? " His

words were blunt, but the truth was there.

Fang Yi said nothing more, pointing inside. "Can I go in

?" "Come in,"

Old Miao yawned, making way.

Fang Yi carefully examined Old Miao, but didn't sense the same aura as himself.

He found this puzzling.

Could Old Miao not be a cultivator?

Then who had taken his golden elixir?

Fang Yi pondered this as he entered the small temple.

It was exactly as he remembered, save for a single statue of Wong Tai Sin.

Red cloth surrounded the statue, while the candlesticks and incense burner on the altar were clean, a testament to Lao Miao's meticulous attention.

Lao Miao handed over three incense sticks, "Burn them quickly and get out."

Fang Yi, a rather easygoing person, wouldn't be offended by such a gesture. He simply said thank you, then took the incense, lit it, and began to offer his respects.

Kneeling and bowing, he closed his eyes, allowing his mind to transcend his physical form once again.

The next moment, the rumbling roar of a thunderous dragon echoed again,

this time with just as much ferocity as before.

Without a second thought, Fang Yi's consciousness returned to his physical form. "

Hmm?

What's going on?

My mind was attacked by the dragon's roar outside, so why would it be attacked again inside? "

Fang Yi gazed around the statue in confusion, truly baffled.

"Why are you kneeling there in a daze? I'm stuck. Hurry!" Lao Miao's impatient voice echoed again.

Fang Yi was certain the two golden dragons were caused by the door couplet.

Would the situation be different if the door couplets were removed?

Unsure if his guess was correct, Fang Yi stood up, pointed at the door couplets, and said, "Lao Miao, take these door couplets off."

"You're such a fuss! The village committee put them up. I'm going to get scolded if I take them off!" Lao Miao's eyes widened.

Fang Yi pulled a fifty-yuan note from his wallet. "Can I take them off now?"

Lao Miao's face instantly transformed into a smile. "Yes, of course."

He snatched the fifty-yuan note, then turned and carefully peeled off the Shenlong door couplets, mumbling, "I'll have to put them back after you leave, or the village committee will really scold me."

Fang Yi shook his head helplessly.

To be honest, he wasn't a wealthy man.

Normally, he wouldn't have wanted to pay so much, but to regain his golden elixir, he had to accept this "extortion."

After a minute or two, Lao Miao finally removed the door couplets intact.

Meanwhile, Aunt Wang and Grandma Wu had also entered the small temple, chatting.

"Why did you take the door couplets off for no reason?" Grandma Wu asked.

Lao Miao's eyes widened as he asked, "What do you care about me?"

Aunt Wang rolled her eyes, "Look at your bad temper, why don't you just ask?"

"Stop talking nonsense and burn incense quickly." Lao Miao didn't want to pay attention to the two women.

Fang Yi was too lazy to care and once again let his consciousness transcend the body.

This time was completely different from before!

The two golden dragons really disappeared!

And as soon as his mind appeared in the void, he immediately "saw" a magical and unusual scene before his eyes!